Issue 14, 2021

Real-time imaging of nanoscale electrochemical Ni etching under thermal conditions

Abstract

The ability to vary the temperature of an electrochemical cell provides opportunities to control reaction rates and pathways and to drive processes that are inaccessible at ambient temperature. Here, we explore the effect of temperature on electrochemical etching of Ni–Pt bimetallic nanoparticles. To observe the process at nanoscale resolution we use liquid cell transmission electron microscopy with a modified liquid cell that enables simultaneous heating and biasing. By controlling the cell temperature, we demonstrate that the reaction rate and dissolution potential of the electrochemical Ni etching process can be changed. The in situ measurements suggest that the destabilization of the native nickel oxide layer is the slow step prior to subsequent fast Ni removal in the electrochemical Ni dissolution process. These experiments highlight the importance of in situ structural characterization under electrochemical and thermal conditions as a strategy to provide deeper insights into nanomaterial transformations as a function of temperature and potential.

Graphical abstract: Real-time imaging of nanoscale electrochemical Ni etching under thermal conditions

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
03 Nov 2020
Accepted
25 Feb 2021
First published
26 Feb 2021
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2021,12, 5259-5268

Real-time imaging of nanoscale electrochemical Ni etching under thermal conditions

S. F. Tan, K. Reidy, J. Klein, A. Pinkowitz, B. Wang and F. M. Ross, Chem. Sci., 2021, 12, 5259 DOI: 10.1039/D0SC06057G

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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